Now my exams are over my attention has shifted to my EPQ, though not entirely as my A2 level lessons have started, however I attended another talk on the EPQ, this time it is after I signed up for it and basically informing me of what I need to achieve before I leave college for the summer holidays, which is:
- A reflective journal (online blog, diary etc.)
- A long term detailed plan
- A literature review or detailed annotated bibliography (at least 10 sources)
I also learnt that I must have completed my project by 1st December 2014 which is in about 5months. My EPQ supervisions start next week and my target by then is to come up with one (or two) definite areas and some suggestions of titles by my first EPQ session on Wednesday next week.
So far I have decided that my focus will be on history because that is the period which interests me most, however the problem is that there are many different civilisations and many different areas so narrowing this topic down will be difficult however it is good that I have managed to narrow down all of history into a smaller topic to get a title from.
Question to ask supervisor: Should the title be a question or a statement?
(18/06/2014) I have just had my first supervision and looked through what I need to do and on the title verification I have seen that it can be either!
Since the 24-04-2014 I have started my A2 courses which have eliminated a few of my initial ideas (red) as I want to do something completely different and we have begun to study similar things in some of my subjects. Therefore I have made another mind map to put my ideas and options down on paper:
- A reflective journal (online blog, diary etc.)
- A long term detailed plan
- A literature review or detailed annotated bibliography (at least 10 sources)
I also learnt that I must have completed my project by 1st December 2014 which is in about 5months. My EPQ supervisions start next week and my target by then is to come up with one (or two) definite areas and some suggestions of titles by my first EPQ session on Wednesday next week.
So far I have decided that my focus will be on history because that is the period which interests me most, however the problem is that there are many different civilisations and many different areas so narrowing this topic down will be difficult however it is good that I have managed to narrow down all of history into a smaller topic to get a title from.
Question to ask supervisor: Should the title be a question or a statement?
(18/06/2014) I have just had my first supervision and looked through what I need to do and on the title verification I have seen that it can be either!
Since the 24-04-2014 I have started my A2 courses which have eliminated a few of my initial ideas (red) as I want to do something completely different and we have begun to study similar things in some of my subjects. Therefore I have made another mind map to put my ideas and options down on paper:
From this mind map I’ve found out that what I seem to be most interested in (what came up the most) is the more ancient history, this also coincides with the history I know least about – very narrow knowledge – which suggests that Ancient History would be a good next point for developing a title for my EPQ especially as it is a possible option for me to study at University.
Advantages: I am really interested in ancient history and there are many avenues to go down, with the help of archaeology and academics there should also be a lot of resources.
Disadvantages: a lot of the archaeology evidence will probably be in ancient languages so whether or not translations are easy has the potential to create difficulties down the road, furthermore without seeing the artefacts in person evidence may be difficult to gather which means I may have to rely on the works of academics more than anything else.
Next Step: I Narrow down ancient history – what sort of topic i.e. culture, archaeology, architecture etc. What civilisation i.e. Roman, Greek, Egyptian etc. I have therefore decided to do another mind map this time on the avenues of Ancient History which I could choose to go down:
Advantages: I am really interested in ancient history and there are many avenues to go down, with the help of archaeology and academics there should also be a lot of resources.
Disadvantages: a lot of the archaeology evidence will probably be in ancient languages so whether or not translations are easy has the potential to create difficulties down the road, furthermore without seeing the artefacts in person evidence may be difficult to gather which means I may have to rely on the works of academics more than anything else.
Next Step: I Narrow down ancient history – what sort of topic i.e. culture, archaeology, architecture etc. What civilisation i.e. Roman, Greek, Egyptian etc. I have therefore decided to do another mind map this time on the avenues of Ancient History which I could choose to go down:
Obviously this is not all of Ancient History – just the bits I am particularly interested in. From here I have to choose an area which I can develop into a title which is the next step – period, event, culture, individuals, and relationship with the modern world? I would like to find a way of combining topics to answer my title.
Here are some of the ideas that stuck out to me from the mind map and some potential questions I have thought of:
- Alexander the Great
o Why is he great? Influence on Greek civilisation? Influence today/post mortem?
- Persian Wars
o How they effected Ancient Civilisation? Why the battle ended/why the Greeks won?
- Relationship between the Greek civilisation and the Roman civilisation
o How did the Greeks influence Roman culture? Did the Romans just steal Greek ideas (was any of their culture truly original)?
- Ancient historians and their role
o Role in ancient/classical times? Significance and role now? How useful are they for modern historians?
- Role of the Oracle in the Ancient world (problem: what kind of title could stem from this?)
o Thucydides and Socrates within this and their criticisms/theories of the oracles? Why did people consult the oracles? How did the oracles predict the future?
Following on from these ideas I see that Alexander the Great overlaps with the Persian Wars so they might as well go together – can’t really mention one without the other – and similarly ancient historians can be used to discuss all of the other topics mentioned as they would have documented them so can be included within my EPQ or as the subject encompassing all the other topics. Personally I think using ancient historians within a topic would be more beneficial for me as I feel it would give my EPQ much more focus though it is an option.
Therefore from this narrowing down I have decided that my choice lies within:
- Alexander the Great
o Positives: Never studied him or that period of history before; I’ve obviously heard of him but actually don’t really know anything about him; because he is so well known there should be a lot of information on him; could potentially link this with how the Ancient Greek world influenced Roman civilisation and with ancient historians
o Negatives: Due to him being such an iconic individual the potential for original work diminishes though isn’t impossible; very narrow topic so the potential for a broad, encompassing topic is lessened
- The Oracle
o Positives: Very interesting topic which I have studied very little; potential for a great number of questions because they are such a mysterious aspect of the ancient world; could do it through time which would add more depth
o Negatives: Because they are so mysterious a lot of the information is up to interpretation which means it may be hard to gather the more concrete evidence; I have studied it before in Classical Civilisation in context with the Iliad so it wouldn’t be something completely new to me
- Relationship between the Greek civilisation and the Roman civilisation
o Positives: Important question for ancient historians to consider so will probably have lots of resources on it; I am interested in it; could include the oracles and Alexander within it
o Negatives: Definitely touched upon it in Classical Civilisation so it wouldn’t be something completely new to me; this is probably a question/statement which has been touched upon many a time so the potential for more original work is limited
Now I have achieved my target of narrowing down ancient history into some topics my next step is to think more about these topics, run them by my supervisor on Wednesday and have my initial title for my EPQ. I also plan on going to the meeting on the 17-06-2014 on research skills which will be given by a member of the LRC staff and should help with the research aspect of the EPQ.
Here are some of the ideas that stuck out to me from the mind map and some potential questions I have thought of:
- Alexander the Great
o Why is he great? Influence on Greek civilisation? Influence today/post mortem?
- Persian Wars
o How they effected Ancient Civilisation? Why the battle ended/why the Greeks won?
- Relationship between the Greek civilisation and the Roman civilisation
o How did the Greeks influence Roman culture? Did the Romans just steal Greek ideas (was any of their culture truly original)?
- Ancient historians and their role
o Role in ancient/classical times? Significance and role now? How useful are they for modern historians?
- Role of the Oracle in the Ancient world (problem: what kind of title could stem from this?)
o Thucydides and Socrates within this and their criticisms/theories of the oracles? Why did people consult the oracles? How did the oracles predict the future?
Following on from these ideas I see that Alexander the Great overlaps with the Persian Wars so they might as well go together – can’t really mention one without the other – and similarly ancient historians can be used to discuss all of the other topics mentioned as they would have documented them so can be included within my EPQ or as the subject encompassing all the other topics. Personally I think using ancient historians within a topic would be more beneficial for me as I feel it would give my EPQ much more focus though it is an option.
Therefore from this narrowing down I have decided that my choice lies within:
- Alexander the Great
o Positives: Never studied him or that period of history before; I’ve obviously heard of him but actually don’t really know anything about him; because he is so well known there should be a lot of information on him; could potentially link this with how the Ancient Greek world influenced Roman civilisation and with ancient historians
o Negatives: Due to him being such an iconic individual the potential for original work diminishes though isn’t impossible; very narrow topic so the potential for a broad, encompassing topic is lessened
- The Oracle
o Positives: Very interesting topic which I have studied very little; potential for a great number of questions because they are such a mysterious aspect of the ancient world; could do it through time which would add more depth
o Negatives: Because they are so mysterious a lot of the information is up to interpretation which means it may be hard to gather the more concrete evidence; I have studied it before in Classical Civilisation in context with the Iliad so it wouldn’t be something completely new to me
- Relationship between the Greek civilisation and the Roman civilisation
o Positives: Important question for ancient historians to consider so will probably have lots of resources on it; I am interested in it; could include the oracles and Alexander within it
o Negatives: Definitely touched upon it in Classical Civilisation so it wouldn’t be something completely new to me; this is probably a question/statement which has been touched upon many a time so the potential for more original work is limited
Now I have achieved my target of narrowing down ancient history into some topics my next step is to think more about these topics, run them by my supervisor on Wednesday and have my initial title for my EPQ. I also plan on going to the meeting on the 17-06-2014 on research skills which will be given by a member of the LRC staff and should help with the research aspect of the EPQ.